1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to improvements in gaming machines and, more particularly, to a new and improved system and method for dispensing a payout in the form of paper tokens from a gaming machine, whereby software-controlled dispensing of the paper tokens provides enhanced player satisfaction and excitement, while providing improved gaming machine reliability, security, and accountability.
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a typical casino gaming machine, a player inserts currency, such as tokens, coins, scrip or paper denominations, into the gaming machine to activate play. In addition, a player may insert a gaming card into the machine and designate the number of credits to be played. If the particular pay results in a winning combination, the gaming machine dispenses the appropriate payout for that particular combination.
In such an event, the win is frequently dispensed from the gaming machine in the form of coin tokens or coins which are stored in the gaming machine's coin hopper. In another embodiment, the gaming machine may provide credits to a player's gaming card that has been inserted into the machine.
Where the win is dispensed in the form of coin tokens or coins, the gaming machine accesses a coin hopper in order to make the payout. However, the coin hopper only has a limited storage capacity, e.g. 400-800 coins, and this can limit the amount of payouts and the size of the payouts that can be made. In fact, if a substantial win occurs, an attendant may be required to make the payout to the player.
In the event that a large number of payouts has occurred within a short period of time, the coin hopper can run out of coin tokens or coins. This results in a problem for casinos in that player dissatisfaction can occur, it requires the casino to refill the hopper, and the time the machine is off-line results in no play on the gaming machine and, consequently, a loss of income to the casino.
Moreover, with the inclusion of bill acceptors into gaming machines, the risk of the hopper running low or empty is exacerbated. In this case, players insert paper denominations or script into the machine and are still paid out via coin tokens or coins. In this regard, when the player inserts paper currency into the machine, the coin tokens paid out from the hopper are not replenished. This results in the need for additional fills to the gaming machine more often than before the inclusion of bill acceptors, which results in higher operating costs to the casinos, and in greater player dissatisfaction when the machine fails to payoff and/or when it is taken off-line.
Clearly, dispensing payouts from gaming machines in the form of paper tokens such as paper money, paper scrip, or gift certificates provides advantages over coin tokens in convenience, security, reliability, and entertainment value for casinos and players. However, there may also be problems associated with dispensing paper tokens. Paper tokens do not make noise when hitting a tray, and therefore a player might not be aware that he or she has been paid. In other words, coin tokens or coins which are dispensed from gaming machines direct the player's attention to the payout by making noise when they hit the coin tray, so that a player knows he or she has been paid. The player can easily view the coin tray, and the coin tokens or coins collect in the coin tray where they can be readily retrieved by the player. In addition, paper tokens are lightweight and might miss the tray entirely and fall to the floor, causing an apparent short payout from the gaming machine.
Moreover, security is a major issue in the gaming industry, including the prevention of theft by customers and employees. It is important to provide systems in gaming machines to insure the integrity of the dispenser and the paper tokens to be dispensed therefrom. Security measures are consequently necessary to monitor the installation and removal of the dispenser and the paper tokens. Further, security measures are necessary to verify and insure that the proper denomination of bills in a paper token dispenser are being inserted into a gaming machine. And obviously, monitoring of the actual dispensing of paper tokens to the player is important to the security of the overall system.
Tight accounting controls and internal operating procedures for tracking and reporting on the flow of money are also essential for casino operations. Also, state regulatory agencies have placed specific requirements on casinos regarding the handling, counting, and distribution of money and tokens within the casino, which must be followed. Still further, money in and out of each gaming machine must be tracked on a machine-by-machine basis to measure and insure proper operation of each gaming machine. Accordingly, such accounting requirements must be taken into account in systems which dispense paper tokens.
In addition, an important security and accounting concern for casinos is the ability to track and monitor the amount of money and quantity of tokens in and out of the dispensers. Also, the data generated in the gaming machine, required for reconciliation of security and accounting data, needs to be readily and reliably available from the gaming machine.
Even casinos which do not have central systems for collecting data regarding the operations of their gaming machines would benefit from the use of paper token dispensers for added player convenience. Data collected in such casinos regarding gaming machine operations would need to be collectable in and retrievable from the gaming machine. Further, technicians in such casinos would need an indication on the gaming machine to signal malfunctions of the dispenser or to signal a low condition of paper tokens in the dispenser. If a gaming machine is broken or in a non-operational state, the machine's earnings decrease, with corresponding increase in casino cost and player dissatisfaction. It is, therefore, important to maximize the up time of gaming machines through efficient and effective maintenance capabilities.
Moreover, in gaming machines, critical space constraints require the placing of the dispensing system for paper tokens in an optimal manner.
Furthermore, enabling the speed of dispensing paper tokens from the dispenser to be dependent on the player would provide a more entertaining and enjoyable reward cycle for the player, increasing player satisfaction in playing the game.
In view of these considerations, effective operational, security, and accounting systems must be implemented in a paper token dispensing system for the dispensers which dispense the paper tokens, the containers which contain the paper tokens, and for the gaming machines in which the dispensers and containers are installed.
Therefore, those concerned with the development and use of improved gaming machines and the like have long recognized the need for improved systems and methods for dispensing tokens from gaming machines, that is, a system which can alert the casino to low token or hopper states (preemptive fill) while minimizing gaming machine operating and maintenance costs, track player payouts, track and monitor paper token cassettes/containers, and that pays out to the player in a fast, efficient and effective manner while still maintaining player excitement and satisfaction. Accordingly, the present invention fulfills these needs by providing efficient and effective dispensing of the paper tokens under the control of the software for enhanced gaming machine operations and increased player enjoyment.